Miami’s rushing performance against Texas A&M was... anomalous.
The Hurricanes’ first-round College Football Playoff opponent held a modest-at-best rush defense, ranked 40th nationally in rushing yards allowed per game (130.8) and 68th in yards allowed per carry (4.2). But Miami’s rushing offense – even with numbers that improved against the Aggies – has not been good on the whole this year.
Miami University in Ohio averages more rushing yards per game than the University of Miami in Florida does, with the Hurricanes ranked 76th at 151.9. In yards per carry, they fare only slightly better, at 71st nationally with 4.3 yards per attempt.
Ohio State’s defenders aren’t taking Miami’s run game lightly. But whether the Hurricanes can sustain their first-round success on the ground vs. the Buckeyes’ top-five run defense is uncertain.
“I think the first thing you see when you watch the tape, how big they are up front,” Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles said on Monday. “They've got a big O-line. They're physical. They do a good job up there. ... And then it goes to the back, four. He's a big back. He does a great job as well.”
That “four” Styles spoke of is the jersey No. 4, Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr. There’s a lot of backstory to tell with that name.
Ohio State recruited Fletcher in the class of 2023, landing his commitment in April 2022. The Buckeyes whiffed on their other top running back targets in that class, including former Alabama-turned-Michigan ball carrier Justice Haynes and five-star Richard Young, and Fletcher was set to be the Buckeyes’ only signee at the position for the class.
But Miami, the team he and his family grew up rooting for, made a late push after finishing as runner-up in his initial recruitment. In November 2022, he decommitted from Ohio State eight months after his initial pledge. He committed to the Hurricanes three days before he signed in December.
It’s been a difficult 14 months for Fletcher. His father, Mark Fletcher Sr., died unexpectedly in October 2024. He was 53.
“That’s my why,” Fletcher said in September. “I don’t know what I would tell you what my ‘why’ was before. I just loved playing football, but this is definitely my why now and will forever be that way.”
On the field, Fletcher’s had highs and lows in 2025. He has four 100-yard games, but also four games of 40 yards or less, each time averaging less than 3.5 yards per carry. He had a career performance in his first playoff game, however, collecting 172 yards in just 17 carries against Texas A&M. He set up Miami’s game-winning touchdown with runs of 56 and 12 yards.
What a story Mark Fletcher is man.
— Garrett Armbrust (@4thandsaturday) December 20, 2025
Was committed to Ohio State flipped to Miami so his family can watch him. Plays for his dad and mom drives to every single game.
Best game of his career on the biggest stage.
172 rushing yards & 10.1 YPC
pic.twitter.com/3wxpKqSisK
For the season, Fletcher has 158 carries for 857 yards (5.4 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns. A bruising back at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, he fits the style of an offensive line with an average weight of 329 pounds. 335-pound right tackle Francis Mauigoa, a consensus first-team All-American, and 345-pound left tackle Markel Bell lead the charge.
“Their O-line is pretty big,” defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. said. “They move well. I mean, (Mauigoa) and (Bell), the two tackles, they're probably the best offensive linemen on the O-line. But as a collective, they move well, and they're pretty huge.”
Ohio State’s run defense is statistically much more impressive, however. The Buckeyes are No. 5 in both rushing yards allowed per game (84.5) and per carry (2.8). They feature a consensus All-American in the defensive trenches, too, a unanimous All-American in defensive tackle Kayden McDonald. McDonald didn’t balk when asked about Fletcher and the run game.
“Well, Miami, they're a good team, ACC,” McDonald said. “But it's all about us. And I feel like the preparation I put in, I feel like I won't be blocked. So whatever they got for us, we're coming.”
The Buckeye defensive line has been an especially motivated bunch all year, a trend that started early in the offseason as doubt about how Ohio State would replace four NFL-bound starters fueled their collective motivation. And they now have extra motivation following Ohio State’s Big Ten Championship Game loss to Indiana.
“Losing those four guys last year and coming into this season, people counted us out,” Jackson said. “But we just keep our head down. We come in and we work hard each and every day, and yeah, we still use that as fuel each and every game. Especially last game, that wasn't our best performance, and as a leader of the D-line, that was my fault. We didn't have our best performance or whatever, but coming into this next game, we're going to be hyped up for sure.”
Miami rushed for 6.3 yards per carry as a team against Texas A&M, its second-highest mark of the season after a 6.6-yard-per-carry day against Bethune Cookman (an FCS school) in Week 2. But Ohio State will be a different beast entirely. And despite its accolades, the Buckeyes’ defensive front still feels it hasn’t hit its stride.
“I feel like we haven't reached our full potential because we didn't get that last win,” McDonald said. “But I know Caden Curry, Kenyatta Jackson, Eddrick Houston, Tywone (Malone Jr.), Zion (Grady), Will (Smith Jr.), all those guys, I know we're gonna be ready. So we're not happy at all. We're angry.”
